2024 F1 drivers 'Pound-for-Pound' Rankings before Spanish GP

The 2024 F1 Spanish GP kickstarts what's going to be a rigorous triple header. The season's scheduling has been far better this time around, as even though there are 24 events on the calendar, the start of the season has had decent breaks in between.

Well, now we get to the business end of the season and things will start ramping up. As we head to the 2024 F1 Spanish GP, how have the drivers fared at the start of the season? We have already had 9 races where there have been ups and downs. In these races where has each of them performed and where do they find themselves in the pecking order?

To determine this, we've come up with the pound-for-pound rankings of the drivers. The term 'pound for pound' has been taken from the world of combat sports, where this term is used to rank fighters/boxers from different weight categories. In our rankings, we are doing the same as we remove the 'car factor' from the equation.

When we do our driver ratings after every race, we try to keep the machinery out of the equation. For the pound-for-pound rankings, we are going to do the same as we take the average rating of each driver this season and use that to give them their overall rank. So where do the 20 F1 drivers on the grid find themselves on the pound-for-pound rankings? Let's take a look as we head to the Spanish GP.

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F1 drivers 'Pound for Pound' ranking (Before Spanish GP 2024)

#20 Logan Sargeant (Avg rating: 5.25)

Logan Sargeant finds himself at the bottom after 9 races. With Kimi Antonelli finally close to getting a super license, the American's future will be in danger at Williams.

#19 Lance Stroll (Avg rating: 5.39)

Lance Stroll might want to flaunt that he has outqualified his teammate four times this season but his overall performances have still been a struggle. Heading to the Spanish GP, the driver is in P19.

#18 Guanyu Zhou (Avg rating: 5.67)

It's not a far-fetched thought that Zhou is probably driving his last season in F1. The Chinese driver has been completely outclassed in 2024.

#17 Kevin Magnussen (Avg rating: 5.78)

Kevin Magnussen's season has been one of ups and downs because of the manner in which he defended early in the year. Heading into the Spanish GP, he's fighting for his seat as Haas assesses options.

#16 Sergio Perez (Avg rating: 6)

It is to everyone's surprise, apparently, that Sergio Perez has got a contract extension at Red Bull. The driver is on a poor run and finds himself in P16.

#15 Daniel Ricciardo (Avg rating: 6.06)

Daniel Ricciardo has not had the best of seasons and P15 seems apt for him at this stage. Having said that, after a strong run in Canada he will be looking to build on it at the Spanish GP.

#14 Valtteri Bottas (Avg rating: 6.17)

Valtteri Bottas has been fighting an unwinnable battle this season as Stake F1 Sauber is performing at a level that's just not suitable for any team. The driver is in P14 at this stage.

#13 Lewis Hamilton (Avg rating: 6.28)

Lewis Hamilton's start to the season was poor and while he has shown signs of recovery, he currently finds himself P13 in the pecking order.

#12 Pierre Gasly (Avg rating: 6.44)

Gasly has tried to make the best of a worst-case scenario at Alpine. Heading into the F1 Spanish GP, the French driver will look to improve from this benchmark.

#11 Alex Albon (Avg rating: 6.78)

Alex Albon has been a solid line warrior for Williams and is right outside the top 10. At the F1 Spanish GP, he will look for improvement as Williams takes small steps toward the front.

#10 Fernando Alonso (Avg rating: 7)

Fernando Alonso's 2024 F1 season is maybe not what many would call a vintage season. The Spaniard has made far too many mistakes and there have been far too many errors. Yet some brilliant drives have kept him in the top 10 as he tries to keep the momentum.

#9 Oscar Piastri (Avg rating: 7.06)

Oscar Piastri has been more or less solid in terms of performance. The Australian will be hoping to take that next step in race pace to become the complete package and a frontrunner.

#8 George Russell (Avg rating: 7.22)

Russell has had a few bumps on the way. The driver is however the undisputed benchmark for Mercedes. He will be hoping for a return to the podium at the F1 Spanish GP this weekend.

#7 Yuki Tsunoda ( Avg rating: 7.28)

Yuki Tsunoda has been very impressive in keeping a tab on teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian has been more or less a step behind the Japanese driver and that's a testament to the kind of job that Tsunoda has done this season.

#6 Carlos Sainz (Avg rating: 7.31)

Sainz started the season impressively with a win in Melbourne. Since then, Leclerc seems to have stepped up while the Spaniard has taken a backseat. He's right on the verge of being in the top 5 as he heads to his home race.

#5 Nico Hulkenberg (Avg rating: 7.56)

One of the underrated drivers in F1 continues to be Nico Hulkenberg. The German's contributions have helped him secure a spot on Audi's future team but even in 2024, he's been brilliant and pretty consistent.

#4 Esteban Ocon (Avg rating: 7.61)

Only getting in the news for the wrong reasons is not what Esteban Ocon's 2024 F1 season should be about. While he leaves Alpine, it cannot be denied that the French driver has been taking that overweight car to places that it didn't deserve early in the season. The French driver will be hoping for a better run in the F1 Spanish GP than what happened in Canada.

#3 Charles Leclerc (Avg rating: 8.33)

The top 3 are in a different league at the moment, as we can see from the average rating. At P3 we have Charles Leclerc, who had a complete disaster in Canada. The F1 Spanish GP is the first opportunity for Leclerc to get back to the podium.

#2 Lando Norris (Avg rating: 8.39)

Lando Norris has been super consistent in his McLaren from day 1 and is starting to mature into an even bigger star. The driver has already won a race in 2024 and will be looking to win more if the opportunity presents itself.

#1 Max Verstappen (Avg rating: 8.72)

At P1 is the best driver on the grid. There's just no competition whatsoever for Max as he continues to reign over the entire grid with brilliant drives week in and week out.